The Sandra Mansour S/S 2015 Collection was by far my favorite of Paris Fashion Week. Mansour opted for a more intimate showroom presentation at the Westin Paris-Vendôme Hotel which is ultra swanky. I was already an hour behind and rushing and hoped I wasn’t too late for my scheduled 1pm appointment. (I showed up at 2:30pm). But when I knocked on the door I was greeted by a smiling face and ushered in. Sandra herself told me that I was perfectly on time because a buyer had just finished up and she had freedom to walk me through the collection.
Presentations are always so much more personal and showroom presentations even more so. You get to chat directly with the designer and actually get to touch the clothes, see them up close and really get a feel for the craftsmanship and details. Mansour is bubbly and beautiful with big eyes and flowing dark hair. She wears a sheer shirt of her own custom made print design and a leather skirt. She is eager to tell me all about the collection and show me her favorites. We started with a gazar sheer white maxi dress that I absolutely fell in love with. Mansour pointed out that its very dramatic and more of an editorial piece which I whole heartedly agreed. She then moved on to a tiered white lace dress with gorgeous detailing and she told me that that dress could be a wedding dress for a more modern bride. She then guides me over to the burgundy printed pieces which are beautiful. Mansour explained to me that before she was a designer she wanted to be an artist and she actually hand drew the design and then it was colored and transferred to the fabric. So the prints in her collection are 100% her’s which I think is pretty awesome.
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Transparency and lightness is definitely a running theme through the S/S 2015 collection. Everything is light and can easily blow in the wind. My favorites are the A Line full maxi skirts which could be mixed and matched with different tops and long smoking jackets in the collection. I also love the gold leaf appliqués used on a few pieces in the collection. My eyes gravitated toward a black high low dress that I am absolutely in love with. I could imagine myself wearing this dress and then theres another short black mini dress with a fluted hemline that is absolutely stunning. I’m offered a coffee and I sit in the showroom and take it all in. Mansour is happy to give me a lovely usb key decorated with a sheer fabric that has photos and descriptions of the entire collection. She also shows me an article of her that was just published in a magazine. And with the little french I understand I realized that for many years she worked with Elie Saab in Lebanon, and I wonder if his work has had any influence in her design preference.
As another two buyers into the room, my short time with Sandra Mansour and her lovely S/S 2015 Collection comes to an end. She bids me farewell with a smile, and I’m off to the next venue. I later found a tiny chocolate from Sandra Mansour in my press envelope along with her business card and the USB key. This lady knows the way to my heart.
What do you think of the Sandra Mansour S/S 2015 Collection?
xx
Monroe
J’aime beaucoup cette collection
Ils sont magnifiques 😉